Nr. 26 "Lasset uns nun gehen" from Bach's Christmas Oratorio III

Here's ​that (in)famous Nr. 26 in Bach's Christmas Oratorio III - so what's happening here is that the shepherds say to each other "Let us now go to Bethlehem to see what God has made known (the birth of Jesus)." It should show the joyful expectation of the people. The general performance tempo can vary quite a bit here and there are some very tricky passages for the flutes, which are in unison with the strings. So here are some of my tips for all flutists playing it this season, which I hope can help one or the other! 

- It's not a solo, but a musical backdrop that shows the excitement of the people. I personally don't think it should be super fast, but you may not have a say about that. There are many nice details in the entire passage, beautiful and surprising turns both in the harmonic and melodic material, which would be a pity to just rush and gloss over. The dynamic should be a very exciting piano, using articulation to delineate and carve out the fun shapes. Think of it like people chattering and getting ready to go to see something amazing. (perhaps also consider, the text says "go", and not "hurry" or "flee")

- Some of the passages in F#minor are a bit thorny on the baroque flute. Again, keep them light and use very little air. I have often found "backing off" from difficult passages works much better musically and technically than "I need to get this". 

- Normally I would use Gb instead of F# when playing in A major/F# minor. However, you may find F# working just fine in this instance as long as it's in tune with everyone else. The same thing with using Ab instead of G#, and maybe also Bb instead of A#. These can save some fingering hassle, but flutes can differ greatly and you'll have to come up with a solution that works for you personally, and then stick to it during practice. This has to be an internalized technique and we can't be thinking while playing, at least for each season! Sometimes I do change my fingerings depending on how I feel each year, but they won't differ a lot. 

- Keep in mind any fingering involving the 4th finger will need extra attention. 

​- Make sure to keep the air flow constant, smooth, and slow enough for sound production. Due to nerves, we can easily tense up in the throat and then the air becomes kind of "crumbly", resulting in a loss of sound and ending up with only dull-sounding articulation noise. This may be hard to control and comes with performance practice, as the air speed goes easily up when we're stressed! 

- Don't forget to look up and breathe, always.